"I reminded him that his six-hitting ability has helped him reach here" - Abhishek Sharma's father reveals advice to son before 2nd IND-ZIM T20I

Indian opener Abhishek Sharma's father, Rajkumar Sharma, opened up about advising his son not to question his attacking approach ahead of the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Sunday, July 7. Abhishek looked to open his account on international debut with a maximum in the series opener only to be dismissed for a duck on Saturday, July 6.

However, staying true to his father's advice, the southpaw got off the mark in the second T20I with a six. It propelled Abhishek to a stunning 100 off 47 deliveries, the joint third-fastest by an Indian batter to a T20I century.

Following the game, Rajkumar Sharma spoke to Indian Express about his advice to his son after the opening game disappointment.

"He was a bit dejected. You can’t blame him. When you get out on nought on your debut, you do question your approach. He was blaming himself for his six-hitting obsession. I reminded him that his six-hitting ability has helped him reach here. Why change your style now, stick to your strength," said Rajkumar.

"He wanted to get off the mark with a six. He misread the length and couldn’t connect it. But today, he not only started his innings with a six but also completed his century with the maximum (hat-trick of sixes)," he added.

Abhishek's onslaught took India to a massive 234-2 in 20 overs and an eventual 100-run victory to level the series at 1-1.

The Men in Blue suffered a shocking defeat in the opener by 13 runs, failing to chase down a below-par 116.

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"Rohit Sharma has shown the way for all the Indian youngsters" - Rajkumar Sharma

Rajkumar Sharma praised ace batter Rohit Sharma for setting the attacking template from ball one and wanted his son to replicate the same.

Rohit recently led Team India to their second T20 World Cup win in the West Indies and the USA.

"The demand of T20 cricket now is to attack from ball one. You have to be brave. Rohit Sharma has shown the way for all the Indian youngsters. The template is set and I am glad that Abhishek is trying to follow in the footsteps of Rohit. I hope he continues to play in this style and I don’t believe that this approach is a double-edged sword. He has shown consistency," said Rajkumar in the same interview.

"Captain (Shubman) and coach (Laxman) saab also had a word with him after the match. Laxman sir told him, ‘You were thrashing all the international bowlers in the IPL. Treat it as any IPL match, take your time, get acclimatised and then no one will stop you,’" he added.

Abhishek Sharma enjoyed an incredible IPL 2024 season, scoring 482 runs at an average of over 32 and a strike rate of 204.22 in 16 outings.

His blistering starts helped SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) finish runners-up and earn him a maiden national call-up.